


Thus Kindly I Scatter

by MetaBeeBoppin



Category: RWBY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 16:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3297278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetaBeeBoppin/pseuds/MetaBeeBoppin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Team RWBY visit the resting place of Summer Rose. And while their sorrow may weather away at them, they need only the tiniest of pushes to keep them moving forward.</p><p>My tribute to Monty Oum, a true inspiration and a hero. Rest in peace, you'll never be forgotten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thus Kindly I Scatter

**Author's Note:**

> When the tears finally dried away at some time Monday evening, I started writing this because I knew it was something I had to do, and it was something I had to finish no matter how long it took. It's not proof read, and I'm not sure if I've said everything that I wanted to say in it, but it certainly did what I wanted it to. I'll do my best to write some of my thoughts and feelings in the notes at the end, but until then - please enjoy.

The girl hiccupped, and her tears slid between her lips. A new burst of salty grief arrived with every juddering sob that she didn’t have the strength to repress. She clenched hold of the hem of her dress as her tears fell and stained the black fabric bunched down at her knees. Each second became slower and more agonising, and the epitaph on the headstone in front of her became harder and harder to see. As her eyesight fogged, the name engraved in the stone seemed almost less real. She only wished she could say the same of the heaviness in her chest, but right now, that didn’t seem like it would ever go away.

The snow crunched as someone came and knelt down next to her, and powerful but gentle arms wrapped themselves around the girl’s shoulders. Golden strands of hair fell before her eyes as she felt a head settle against her own. Though her sister’s warm, caring embrace made the snow beneath her seem less cold, and less painful, Ruby continued shivering. 

Because why did it have to be her sister and not the mother who rested beneath them?

She heard Yang take a shuddery breath. The sound of mourning is the sound of someone so indomitable choking back the tears and Ruby found herself hugging Yang in return, scrunching up her dress in her balled up hand. It seemed no matter how much time went on, the hole in each of their hearts didn’t seem to close. 

“Hey, Summer,” Yang eventually whispered as an intense, freezing wind blew, thundering in the chasm beyond the cliff. They both shuddered and squeezed each other closer. The grey skies and the howling winds would have convinced anyone else to go home, but the two girls needed to stay. They needed to tough it out, just for a little longer. The snow crunched underfoot again as Weiss and Blake approached, and they knelt down on either side of the two sisters. 

“Should one of us say something?” Blake asked quietly, tenderly, after a moment of silence. Ruby felt Yang’s chest heave as she issued a sigh. The loving, welcoming arms released their hold on Ruby, and the bitter sting of cold struck her again. Yang cleared her throat.

“Umm,” she began, “we all miss you a lot, Sum -- mom. Sometimes we look back and we can’t stand the unfairness of how you were taken so young. But we’re doing okay, because we know all we can do is –“ 

Yang fell silent. She shuddered, and Ruby knew why. All they wanted to do was speak about how strong they were even though Summer was no longer with them, but the truth was, it was a struggle. When the toughest hours of her life arrived, Ruby found herself wondering what her mother would have done, or whether life would be easier if she was still with them. She could never know, and that was impossible to describe. It was sorrow, it was suffering, and raw fury at the injustice, but it was worse, too.

“I’m j-just—“ Ruby choked, clenching her dress into her fists again as the tears resurged, “—I wish she didn’t have to leave us behind… why did she leave us behind?” 

Those words did not describe the emptiness in her heart at all, but it was all Ruby wanted to know. A gentle hand touched her arm, and she turned to Weiss. She saw a rare, compassionate smile etched on the heiress’ lips.

“It was good that she left you behind, Ruby. She left behind something incredible.”

Another hiccup escaped the redhead and the tears resurged, but she had a smile. It was weak, and it was small, but it was there. Blake shuffled closer to the headstone, a beautiful bouquet of red roses in her arms, and she rested them against the stone. A simple token of love, but it felt feeble. What use did Summer have for roses now? 

There were no more words to say because there were no words to be found. Weiss and Blake stood and withdrew, and Yang eventually reluctantly followed. 

“Are you coming, Ruby?” Yang asked quietly. Ruby shook her head. Eventually, she would have to stand, otherwise the harsh winds would freeze her, but the urge to remain there was overpowering. Yang hesitated, but chose to let her sister be. 

There was no incentive for her to follow. She felt blind in a world that seemed so dark. There had been so much time, but there was still so much pain, and so many things that she would never get to see in this darker world. Words unheard, cuddles unfelt, cookies unmunched. Summer, the greatest mother her daughters could have ever wanted and an incredible, powerful woman besides, was gone.

And Ruby could never again tell her how much she loved her. 

“Keep moving, Ruby.”

Startled, she turned her head to the voice, though she hadn’t heard anyone arrive. She saw a man kneeling next to her, much to her surprise. A man she had never seen before, but a man who seemed so familiar. She had no way of knowing why, but she trusted the glimmer in his eyes. She trusted the self-assurance of many years’ experience; she trusted the strength and compassion in his heart. He emanated youth and enthusiasm, but age and wisdom. 

In his outstretched hand, clad in a black fingerless glove, was a snowball. He was offering the snowball, and though Ruby was not in the mood for it, she was compelled to take it. She wanted to see where this funny, mysterious man was going with this. 

She watched as he stood and produced a snowball of his own from seemingly nowhere. He reached back, aimed, and pitched it. It sailed through the air; narrowly whizzing past Weiss’ head, making her squeal in shock. Then, it hit the ground with a thump. The white-haired girl whipped around, an eyebrow raised at Ruby and a confused look in her eyes, as she raised a hand to touch the cheek that had been nipped by the snowball’s bitterness.

“Ruby, what did you—“

Without a second of thought, Ruby was at her feet. Not a furious instinct passed through her brain, she just needed to do something. Just as the man had done, she flung the snowball as hard as she could. It struck Weiss straight in the face and shattered into a cloud of diamond dust. Weiss was stunned, her mouth agape and her eyes wide, as her forehead started to go red. Then, she began to quake, and a familiar look entered her eyes as a Weiss Schnee trademark tantrum began.

“… RUBY!” she bellowed. She snatched up a fistful of snow and lobbed it at her partner, where it struck her straight on top of her head, dousing her in freezing ice. 

Ruby smiled. And then she giggled.

The first domino had fallen. Yang saw her sister smile and was suddenly inspired to chuck a snowball at the back of Weiss’ head. Weiss yelled as the slush soaked her hair and ran down her back. She made an about turn and glared at the blonde, growling, but before she could do anything, Yang had been smacked in the cheek by a snowball from Blake. Her golden faunus eyes darted around as a devious smirk broadened on her face. She narrowly avoided the return snowball from Yang, but dodged straight into one sent by Ruby. Then Ruby was hit by one from Yang, then Yang was hit by one from Weiss, then Weiss was hit by one from Blake.

It was like a chemical reaction, it was pure mayhem, and it was wonderful. Soon the silence on the cliff was over, and was succeeded by laughter in the heart of a makeshift blizzard. New memories came to fruition. Memories such as when Yang failed to keep up with Ruby’s speed and slipped on the ice – she fell on her ass and burst into uncontrollable laughter. The redhead went to offer her sister a helping hand, and instead received a snowball to the face. 

Eventually, they rested on the ground, smiles burned onto their faces as they gazed towards the dim grey sky. A final gust of wind had torn apart the bouquet, and the team lay among the scattered rose petals. Each of them enclosed the nearest petal in their hand and kept it close. Yang squeezed hold of all her teammates in a hug, and Ruby was happy. Though she may have been lost from her mother’s absence, she was still there. Her friends were still there. And though they could never make memories with those they had lost, they could still make memories together. 

There were still battles to win, and races to run, and lives to live – and all they could do was keep moving forward. 

The man watched them from afar, smiled, and took a long drink from a much deserved mug of coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> There have been a lot of tributes to Monty these past couple of days, many of them focusing on how distraught we as a community are. When I initially started writing this on the night I heard the terrible news, I was considering making another tribute on how darker the world is now that Monty is no longer with us. Then, I thought about the mantra that he has left all of us with. 
> 
> "Keep moving forward".
> 
> Whenever life beats me down, I will remember those words. I promise to live by them, because that I'm so sure that's what Monty would want. I never knew him personally, but I'm sure of it. He would want us to keep moving forward, and keep on creating, and keep on living by our passions. Even if we never finish what we start, the fact that we even begin means we'll be further along than we were before. I'll never be able to meet the man who changed me in so many different ways, but at the very least, I will become someone he would have wanted to meet. Please, don't dwell on how sad it is that he's gone. Be happy about what he left behind. His friends at Rooster Teeth, and us as a community. Because I personally believe the most important thing Monty left behind is the thing he would have wanted us to have the most, if we would just reach out and take it.
> 
> His creativity.
> 
> Rest in peace, Monty. We'll never, ever forget you. And we'll keep moving forward.


End file.
